Slow progress on communication strategy due to Commission's internal problems[fr][de] 

Commissioner Wallström points to the internal culture and internal Commission practices as reasons for the lack of progress in the first six months. When interviewed by EurActiv about the delay for the presentation of her new communication strategy, she underlined that "it is more important to get it right than to get it quickly". She went on to say that it is unrealistic to expect too quick change in the internal communication culture of the commission: "Things do not change from one day to another. Not in a hundred days either. We have to be realistic".

For Mrs Wallström the Commission's representation offices are key to any future strategy: "Either we change the way they work and their priorities or we should not have them at all". According to the commissioner, the Commission's internal financial regulations are "too heavy". Communication staff as a result spend more than half of their time on administration instead of doing communication. What is also missing in the Commission are "people with communication skills".

Refering to the example of the services directive, Mrs Wallström also underlined the need "to integrate the communication aspect into each and every proposal" presented by the Commission. In this respect, she feels that the Prodi team did not prepare its services proposal well enough. It should have consulted better and be prepared for the controversial issues that might arise.

Asked about the different signals that the Commission sent out on the Lisbon mid-term review (the image of the three sons and the economic one being ill versus the three dimensions of Lisbon having the same weight), Mrs Wallström admitted that these reflect different political views in the Commission. She feels that it is healthy that the Lisbon agenda has become controversial.

For the commissioner, the role of national parties, parliaments and media is also crucial. "My theory is also that we will never be able to explain the whole project of European Union better unless it is anchored within the national and even regional political traditions and party systems".

Asked about the financial resources the EU spends on communication, Margot Wallström felt that this is not the issue. "There is no lack of resources - the problem is we are not always able to use them fully, due to the complicated financial regulations".

On the Constitution referenda, the commissioner expressed her worries. "Very often in referendas you get an answer to a question that you did not put to the voters. And the experience of several member states has been that people will use this as an opportunity to protest against the government". The referenda are "the member states responsibility first and foremost", said the commissioner; the commission can only explain what is in the constitution, but will "not intervene in any member states who say they do not want us there".

Mrs Wallström said she is ready to set herself some benchmarks in order to be able to evaluate if she succeeded at improving the EU's communication strategy at the end of her mandate. But when asked about the concrete benchmark, she remained rather vague: "Maybe by improving the figures of the number of people who claim to have heard of the European Union? To see that it is going upwards, not downwards."

Read the full version of this interview